A Time to Protect (9 page)

She swallowed hard, went through it once more. “I’ve been thanking God Maddy was inside. She didn’t see or hear anything that will give her nightmares.” She heaved a sigh of relief that something tonight had gone according to plan.

“Thank God indeed.” He stood there, staring at her, waiting.

“I think it was the same man that was at the hospital,” she whispered, wishing she could send Kyle into another room but desperate to keep him near, keep him safe.

“You got a good look at him?”

She shook her head. “No. But he had the same spider tattoo on his wrist.”

Brendan said nothing for several seconds, his gaze never left her face. “Okay, you wait here. I’ll be back in a minute.”

She watched as he walked over to the detective, noted the familiar way they greeted each other.

“Did this man hurt you before, Mom?” Kyle asked, obviously troubled by what he’d heard.

“He was in the hospital and tried to hurt the mayor. I stopped him.”

“Wow!” Kyle’s eyes grew huge. “Will he come after you again?”

She’d been wondering the same thing herself. “I don’t know. I hope not.”

“No, duh!” Kyle leaned back, obviously amazed that his ordinary mother had so much going on in her life.

There were several police officers Brendan spoke to. Detective Sam Vance mustn’t have liked what he heard because he frowned, shook his head, then half turned away to speak on his radio. Brendan pulled out a phone, spoke to someone then pocketed it, his face thoughtful.

“Sam would like some pictures of your injuries. As soon as Maddy’s finished you can go home,” he told her quietly. “Kyle, I’m going to have to ask you not to talk to your sister or any
body else about this. The police want to keep it quiet for a while.”

“Sure.” Kyle’s chest puffed out with importance. “I won’t say anything.”

“Good. For tonight I’m going to go home with you folks, just to make sure this guy doesn’t come back. Tomorrow morning we’ll sort out something else. Okay?”

A rush of relief and a host of trepidation vied for supremacy in Chloe’s brain. On the one hand, she was relieved that she wouldn’t have to endure the night alone, scared for the kids’ safety and for her own. But on the other, Brendan Montgomery made her nervous and too aware of her own vulnerability when it came to the male of the species. None of them were to be trusted.

“Chloe? Is that okay with you?”

“Oh. Yes. Certainly, if you feel it’s necessary.” Her brain groaned at the stupid words.

The guy was a total hunk. Most women would be thrilled to have him protect them. But then most women didn’t have two impressionable children to think about, or an ex-husband who’d left her feeling shattered and worthless. Most women hadn’t struggled to pull themselves from the pit of depression and addiction through sheer willpower. She tried not to flinch at the flash of light while the officer took pictures of her bruises.

“I think it’s prudent, Chloe.”

“It’s very kind of you.” She met his solemn stare. “I think Madison should be finished now. I’ll just go help her change.”

“No problem. We’ll wait here.”

She ordered Kyle to stay put and, like a skittish colt, bolted from the room to the safety of the women’s locker room.

“Hey, Mom. How was your class?”

“I’ll tell you later. Come on, we need to get you changed. Brendan’s giving us a ride home.”

“Why?”

“The van’s—um, it has to stay here tonight.” She held up a
sweater so Madison could slide her arms into the sleeves. “Honey, Brendan is going to be staying at our house tonight.”

“Do you have to work again?” Madison’s muffled voice sounded sad.

“No. I’ll explain it later, okay?”

“Mom?”

“Yes?”

“Is Brendan your boyfriend?”

Nothing could have prepared her for that. Chloe froze, felt the stares of several other girls in the room. She sank down beside her daughter while her brain strove to find a response.

“Honey, you know Brendan is your coach. He took Kyle to his club tonight, too. But that’s all. He’s just a friend.” She leaned closer, smoothed Maddy’s curls. “If you want to talk more about this, we can do it at home. Right now I think it’s better if we get our things together.”

Maddy thought a moment then demanded, “Where’s your bag?”

“Still in the locker.” Chloe retrieved it, checked that her daughter had gathered all her things and beckoned. “Let’s go.”

Kyle was sitting by himself when they emerged from the change rooms, his interest obvious as he watched a flurry of police officers come and go. Chloe couldn’t see Brendan anywhere.

“We have to wait a few minutes while Brendan talks to his boss,” Kyle told her. “They’re arguing about something.”

“Where are they?”

“Just outside the door. I heard them. Brendan said he couldn’t stay with us for more than tonight. That it wasn’t right.” Kyle’s confusion was apparent. “I don’t get it. I thought he liked us. Why wouldn’t he want to stay until this guy is caught?”

“Maybe he’s tied up with something else,” Chloe managed. “You know he’s working on a case. I warned you about this, Kyle.”

“I know.” He frowned. “I heard them talking about some guy
named Escoban or something—he brought drugs into town a while ago. He died in a plane crash. Brendan thinks somebody else is taking over this dead guy’s territory. That’s why he wanted to know about your work at the hospital.”

The drug-related cases at work—he’d asked about them a couple of times. He must be trying to find a link.

“You shouldn’t listen in on other people’s conversations, Kyle,” she reproved. “It’s not polite.”

“I didn’t do it on purpose!” His face resumed the angry look he usually wore. “It’s not my fault they didn’t find somewhere private.”

“I didn’t mean that—” He wiggled away from her reaching hand, went to stand by the vending machine across the room. Chloe sighed, rubbed the back of her neck. She wanted to go home, brew a pot of tea and curl up in front of the fire. Mostly she wanted to forget the haunting voice—“You should have let him die.”

“Are you okay?” That husky voice drew her out of her introspection.

“I’m fine. When can we leave? Maddy needs to get to bed and—”

“We’ll go now. Come on.” Brendan called Kyle and together they left the building, walked to the SUV that sat parked haphazardly against the curb. He slid a hand under her elbow, leaned forward to whisper. “Sam’s going ahead of us to check out your place. If you’ll give me your keys he can check it out before we get there.”

He was trying to keep it from the kids. Chloe drew her key chain from her pocket and silently handed it to him.

“Buckle up, guys,” he called, then slammed her door closed. A minute later he was climbing into his own seat. “Here we go. I just need to make one stop. I need some ice cream. Anybody else want some?”

She knew it was a ruse, a way to give the detective time to search her house, but Kyle and Madison were both so enthusi
astic Chloe knew they didn’t guess. Brendan debated the merits of several different flavors before they settled on one they all agreed on. The drive-through was a few blocks out of their way. When Brendan reached for his wallet, Chloe glimpsed the holster and gun lying against his side. She gulped, wondered if he’d ever used it.

“Want something different? Maybe a cup of frozen yogurt or sherbet?” he asked her, drawing her attention from the weapon, though it was obvious he’d noticed her look.

“No thanks,” she said, feeling her stomach protest at the thought of ice cream. “I’ll have some tea when we get home.”

“Okay.” He paid for the carton, handed it to Kyle, then drove toward her house at a speed slightly less than the limit. “It’s getting warmer out. If we’re lucky it should be a great day for the game on Saturday.”

Thankfully Madison responded, leaving Chloe to concentrate on peering through the windshield looking for someone or something—she didn’t know what. At last they pulled into the drive. Sam was waiting by his car, his face impassive as he helped Chloe out of the vehicle.

“There’s no evidence of anyone being inside,” he said so quietly the children never noticed. He slid her keys into her hand. “I’ll come by tomorrow in case you think of anything else. Your statement will be typed by then and you can sign it.”

“But I have to work in the morning,” she told him.

Sam glanced at Brendan, who gave an almost imperceptible shake of his head.

“It might be a good idea to call in sick tomorrow until we can figure out what’s going on.” Brendan watched Kyle and Madison hurry up the walk with their frozen treat. “Don’t worry about it for now. We’ll sort something out.”

“My boss isn’t big on time off.” In fact, Sylvester Grange wasn’t big on Chloe at all and she was fairly certain he’d use any excuse to try and cut her hours. But she needed the hours, as many as she could get, to send Kyle on that ski trip.

“He can’t fight the FBI,” Brendan told her, the ghost of a grin playing at his lips. “Don’t worry. It’ll work out.” He took her arm, nodded at the detective. “Thanks, Sam. Talk to you later.”

“Count on it, Montgomery.”

Something in his tone made Chloe check each male face, but finding nothing tangible to comment on she held her tongue and walked toward the home she’d hoped would shield her and her children from life’s troubles. Apparently she’d been mistaken.

Once inside Brendan served up the ice cream, teasing and joking with the kids while they finished huge dishes. Maddy began to droop and Chloe scooted her upstairs, overseeing tooth-brushing and face-washing. Finally she tucked the little girl into bed, listened to her prayers and flicked off the overhead light.

“Mom?”

“Yes, sweetie?”

“Something happened tonight, didn’t it? Something bad?”

“Why do you say that?”

“You have marks on your neck. Brendan kept looking at them.” She yawned, turned her head into the pillow. “Besides, I always know when Kyle’s trying to keep a secret. He’s not very good at it.”

Chloe smiled. “Yes, honey. Something happened. But everything’s all right now. I’m fine and we’re all together. So you go to sleep.”

“Okay.” Without another word, Maddy’s eyelids dropped. A few moments later soft whiffling snores emanated from the bed.

Had she ever been that trusting? Chloe wondered.

“Good night, sweetheart,” she whispered, dusting her fingers across the silken hair. “Sweet dreams.”

Before going downstairs, Chloe detoured through her own room just long enough to pull off her shirt. She picked up a turtleneck that would hide whatever Maddy had seen. In the process of pushing her arms into the sleeves, she caught a glimpse of the ugly marks circling her throat like a necklace of terror.
Immediately her throat clogged and she had to fight to draw breath.

“Oh, God, why is this happening? Why me?”

Trust.

So many times she’d heard that word in her mind, as if it echoed from Heaven’s rafters. But trust wasn’t easy, not after her childhood, certainly not after Steve.

Trust what? Whom? Brendan? He was a nice guy and probably very good at his job, but how could he keep all three of them from harm?

I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go: I will counsel you with my eye upon you
. The verse beamed up from her open Bible, underlined in red. Was that the answer—trust God to lead her and teach her to trust Him? But how? Trust had never come easy, especially in a God so far away, One who’d left her alone when she needed Him most.

Chloe sucked in a breath of air as if it were her last at the remembered feel of those fingers tightening around her neck. Her mind traveled back to a place when she’d cowered under the bed waiting for God to help.

He hadn’t come then. Why would He show up for her now?

“I
think this might be a good time for you tell me exactly what’s going on, Special Agent Montgomery.”

“What do you mean?” The words sounded innocuous, but there was a certain watchfulness in Brendan’s gaze that showed his concern.

“I’m talking about a Mr. Escoban who used to run drugs here in Colorado Springs. That is why you asked me about the drug cases I had on the floor at work, isn’t it?” She poured herself a huge cup of steaming tea and sipped it. Going by his reactions, she’d hit the nail on the head.

Brendan didn’t bother to pretend. He accepted the cup she held out, poured his own tea, then sat down at the table.

“His name was Baltasar Escalante. He rose to power in a drug cartel known as
La Mano Oscura
, used a luxury hotel business in Venezuela to hide his illegal activities. After a lot of work, a crime organization known as the Diablo syndicate, which had ties to the Venezuelan outfit run by Escalante, was dismantled in Colorado Springs.”

“Dismantled?” she asked, wondering how one got rid of such a powerful organization permanently.

“Yes. We got together as a city, as law enforcement individuals and private citizens and drove them out. Mayor Vance has
continued his staunch anti-drug crusade with several programs to keep drugs off the street and violence to a minimum. He’s had an uphill battle. People have been saying that since the syndicate has been gone almost a year now, we don’t need such stringent measures. If my hunch is correct, those people are dead wrong.”

“Your hunch? You think this Escalante is back?”

“Not exactly.” He shook his head. “Baltasar Escalante escaped justice in a private plane. Unfortunately for him, he perished in the crash.”

“Then who?” Chloe tried to read the flitting expression in his eyes.

“My hunch is that someone is taking over for Escalante. Drug cartels don’t like to give up a town, and they don’t stay without a leader for very long.” He tented his fingers. “They also take it very personally when someone conducts an anti-drug campaign against them.”

“That’s why the mayor was shot?”

“We believe so. Someone wants him gone. The streets were relatively clean, but it’s unlikely, given the cases you’ve seen, that they will stay that way much longer. I think another outfit, or the old one reconfigured, is moving back in and reclaiming what they lost.”

“But what’s that to do with me?” she asked. She bit her lip as the answer blazed across her mind. “The mayor.”

“Yes.” Brendan nodded. “You stopped his killer. Maybe he intends to try again, maybe he wanted to warn you not to interfere again, I don’t know.” His forehead pleated in a frown evidenced by his knotting fingers.

“But you’re worried about something.” Chloe tracked his gaze to her hands, caught herself fingering the tenderness on her neck. She immediately dropped her arms. “I’m not as fragile as I look. I can handle the truth.”

“I know. A weaker woman wouldn’t have fought back so hard.” He smiled, brushed his hand over hers. “The thing is, I’m
concerned that our perp may follow you here. I’ve talked to my boss, he’s agreed that I’ll stay tonight to keep watch, but tomorrow things go back to normal.”

“Okay.”

“It’s not okay but it’s the best I can do for now. I can only get clearance for tonight. My boss doesn’t believe this guy will risk exposure for the third time. He’s convinced he’ll go after the mayor again but leave you alone.”

“Sounds reasonable.” She saw doubt fill his face. “You’re not so sure?”

He shook his sun-bleached head, green eyes dark and clouded. “I don’t think he would have bothered you this time if he wasn’t deadly serious.”

Chloe drew a shaky breath, tried to absorb what he was telling her. “All right. So I take precautions.” She struggled to assess what that would mean but her brain jerked to a stop. “What about the kids?”

“I haven’t any evidence to suggest he’d go after them. He did wait until Madison was safely inside tonight.” His voice emerged low, tight with tension.

“That could have been pure chance,” she said, hating this cat-and-mouse pretense. “You can’t be sure he wouldn’t have hurt her, too.”

“That’s the thing, Chloe. I could be wrong about all of it.” Brendan’s gaze met hers and held. “Maybe tonight was just a warning. Maybe this guy isn’t interested in pursuing this any further. I don’t have a lot to go on, just my experience.”

“And?” She waited for the death knell, wondering if she’d finally have to give her children to their father in order to keep them safe.

“My experience tells me that whoever this guy was, he’ll be back. Maybe not tonight, maybe not tomorrow. But sometime soon.”

“Okay.” She kept her face impassive. “Thank you for being honest.”

They chatted for a while longer before Chloe made up the sofa bed in the study and left Brendan to fend for himself. But as she lay through the night, listening to every creak of the house, every moan of the rafters and every sigh of the eaves, Chloe couldn’t help but wonder if trusting Brendan, even for this one night, was a mistake.

After all, she’d trusted before. Her father. Steve. They’d both let her down. Time would tell if Brendan was the same.

It wasn’t going to work and Brendan knew it.

No matter how many sheep he counted, how many stars he envisioned, how many times he adjusted his pillow, sleep would not come.

After half an hour of fighting it, he decided to go with the flow. He was thinking about Chloe Tanner anyway so why not use his thoughts to help her? Brendan rose quickly, dragged on his jeans and shirt, turned on the light and grabbed his laptop. With painstaking detail he went through each entry.

Focusing on the screen he arranged them in chronological sequence: Escalante’s drug operations in South America, his infiltration of Colorado Springs, last year’s efforts that had shut down his business and forced him to flee. And finally, Escalante’s run from freedom and the plane crash that had ended his reign. There was no debating any of that. It was fact—and it was the past.

But what did he know that was current?

Brendan pulled out a sheet of paper and began listing everything he could think of that had happened in the last several months. Informants had claimed someone called
El Jefe
, also known as The Chief, was setting up new operations in town. But where was his base? Old connection or new? And who was
El Jefe
/The Chief?

Next notation—Ritchie Stark, a henchman the FBI believed was tied to Escalante. They’d built tenuous links between the two, but suspicion about the petty criminal was rife. Maybe
with a new boss, Ritchie had risen through the ranks, been given more power, a bigger job.

But Ritchie wasn’t Chloe’s attacker. Brendan was sure of that. Ritchie didn’t have a tattoo and had never been into hands-on violence. Which meant what—he’d hired a hit man? That wasn’t likely. Drug cartels depended on their own people, they didn’t hire outsiders. So Chloe’s attacker, the same man who’d filled the mayor’s IV with what they now knew was a lethal dose of cocaine, had to be part of the organization, maybe someone Ritchie knew previously.

The house sat silent all around him while Brendan paced, mentally reaching for the piece he couldn’t quite find, one that would explain why a second attempt had been made on Chloe. She was a nurse, a bystander who played no part in this. Even if she could identify her attacker, there was no connection to the drug cartel.

Unless her attacker knew who the head of this new drug operation was!

The more Brendan pondered it, the more sense it made. Whoever hit the mayor with those two bullets had missed killing him. At the hospital he’d been foiled again—by Chloe. Now there was a witness. Maybe the hit man had been given a second chance, maybe he’d been told finish the job cleanly or lose his own life.

The attacker had waited, chosen this time and place carefully. Because he didn’t want Chloe’s kids involved? Because the fewer people who were left to identify him the better? Whatever the reason, it was obvious this man intended to clean things up, get back in his boss’s good graces and save his own skin.

Brendan grabbed his phone and dialed. “No, I don’t know what time it is. Listen to me. I need to tell you something.” By the time morning dawned, Brendan knew exactly how this was going to play out.

When Chloe came downstairs, he grabbed her arm, drew her into the study and laid it all out, watching her face as she absorbed his plan.

“Wherever you go, I’m going to be right beside you. Two agents will arrive this morning. Their job is to shadow the kids.”

“But—”

He held his finger against her lips, shook his head. “I’ll explain it to them, don’t worry. I doubt he’ll go after them at all, but as a precaution, I want someone guarding them the entire time they are away from this house. When we’re home there will be agents posted outside. Our team isn’t going to let anything happen to your family.”

“Basically what you’re saying is that I’m the bait in this sting operation of yours,” she said, her astute gaze searing past his in-control facade. “This guy comes after me and you grab him so you can find out who this Chief person is. Have I got that right?”

Put that way, it sounded horrible, as if he were using her to solve the case. Brendan stared into her gorgeous face and felt his conscience wince. The truth was, that was exactly what he and the FBI were doing to Chloe Tanner.

“I know it sounds extreme. I know you think I’m callous and hard.” Brendan wished he could spare her this. “But it’s the only way I know to stop more kids from getting hold of his poison and dying. It’s also the only way I know to protect you, Kyle and Madison from whoever is trying to hurt you. Understand that there are no guarantees, Chloe. But what you do have is my word that I’ll do the best I can to make sure this guy doesn’t come near you or your children.”

“I’m not very good at trusting other people.” Her clear gaze met his head-on. “Especially not men.”

His heart sank at her words, forced him to realize how much her faith in him meant on a personal basis. He’d felt a connection with Chloe, a bond that had began that first day at the hospital. The more he got to know her, the stronger it grew. It hurt to know that bond had been one-sided.

Brendan took a second look, read the indecision in her eyes, saw the hint of skepticism wash over her face and knew she was telling the truth. Chloe Tanner didn’t trust anyone, including him.

“Tell me the alternative,” she whispered, those expressive eyes imploring him to offer her something else. After a moment she shook her head, smiled wryly, hope dying as quickly as it had risen. “There isn’t one, is there?”

“Not that I know of,” he answered honestly. “I believe this guy will not give up. I believe he needs to get you out of the way in order to complete his assignment, to prove he can do the job. I believe he’ll resort to whatever means it takes to hide his identity. Right now you are the only one who threatens that—because he doesn’t know how much you saw.”

She never flinched, never altered her stance. In the depths of her gaze Brendan watched a flicker of despair spring to life, but she pushed it back, straightened her shoulders. Her voice was clear, calm.

“My kids are the most important thing in this world to me,” she told him fiercely. “If you think they need protection from this madman, do it. It doesn’t matter about me except as it affects them. I’m the stable person in their lives. I have to be here—for them. Arrange your people however you must, Special Agent Montgomery. We’ll cooperate.”

“Okay.” He wanted to say more, to reassure her, but that would be offering false hope and he was determined not to do that. That Special Agent business was her deliberate way of trying to put him at arm’s length.

“I know it’s not easy, but you can trust me, Chloe. I won’t let anything happen. I promise.”

She nodded as if she were used to promises and he realized she’d probably heard them before, from her ex-husband if no one else. He followed Chloe into the kitchen, mentally replaying what Madison had told him about her reluctant father leaving Kyle in the lurch, missing time they should have shared, denying them the security a father should have provided.

Chloe’s hesitation made sense now. She probably wasn’t used to having someone keep their word. Well, he intended to be the first.

“Kyle, Madison, Brendan needs to talk to you,” Chloe said. “It’s serious, so I want you to pay attention.”

The two children glanced up from their cereal bowls with the bleary-eyed gaze of kids who’d stayed up too long the night before. His fault for feeding them ice cream before bed, Brendan knew. He wasn’t used to considering details like that. Kids were fun for him. He’d never given a lot of thought to parenting issues, never really looked at cause and effect as a parent would.

Brendan considered what he was about to tell them, reorganized his words in appreciation of what this news was going to do to their worlds. Then with a nod from Chloe, he launched into his explanation, glancing up from time to time to be sure she was in agreement. Several times she nodded encouragingly. Even so, Brendan was glad when he finished the explanation.

“So we should get ready for school, just like any other day?” Kyle asked, casting a sideways glance at his mother while he waited for Brendan’s answer.

“Just like any other day,” Brendan agreed.

“Okay.” He put his bowl in the sink, walked around Chloe’s chair, then paused before leaving. “I’m sorry you got hurt, Mom,” he offered, resting one hand on her shoulder. “I should have said that last night.”

“I’m fine, Kyle, but thank you.” She covered his hand with her own, her long fingers shielding his as a mother would. “Just remember to do what Brendan said. If we work together, we’ll get through this. All of us.”

“Yeah.” He looked at Madison. “C’mon, I’ll help you review that spelling list. We’ve got time before we have to go.”

“Okay.” Agreeable as ever, Maddy scrambled away from the table, put her bowl in the sink and bounded up the stairs.

“Thank you.” Chloe’s almond-shaped eyes stared at Brendan, brimming with unshed tears. “Thank you for sparing them the grueling details of last night. I don’t want them to worry.”